Ep 104 John Pendleton on Rethinking Midwifery: Gender, Power, And Care

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Ep 104 (http://ibit.ly/Re5V) John Pendleton on Rethinking Midwifery: Gender, Power, And Care

@PhDMidwives #research #midwifery #education #care #uninorthants_uon #genderinclusion #addressinginequities

research link - t.ly/UPDGX
A home birth at 2 a.m. changed everything. John Pendleton swapped the BBC’s long-form documentaries for the long arc of labour, finding the same core craft in both worlds: showing up, listening deeply, and holding space through life-changing moments. We trace his path from community midwife to senior lecturer, and how a planned PhD on third stage physiology morphed into a bracing inquiry about gender, power, and presence in the birth room.
We talk candidly about why people choose midwifery—and why many leave in years three to five. Younger cohorts are arriving straight from school while funding gaps, means-tested allowances, and a rising cost of living push placements and part-time work into the same week. Continuity-of-carer promises better outcomes but collides with childcare at 2 a.m. AI may streamline admin, but hands-on, relational care remains the human core. The hard question is practical: how do we build wraparound support so midwives can deliver the care families want without burning themselves out?
John opens the black box of his research: an interpretive phenomenological study asking what it’s like for men working as midwives. The answers live in details—where you stand, how you seek consent, when you offer a chaperone—and reveal how gender operates as power, not just identity. That lens widened into a hotly debated paper on gender-inclusive language and whether “midwife” still serves everyone we care for. The media firestorm missed the nuance, but the academic work stands: read to think, not to react. Along the way, we dig into decolonising midwifery education, teaching cultural humility, and why rigorous mentorship in physiological birth still matters.
If you care about safer, kinder maternity care—closing racial inequities, protecting informed consent, and keeping brilliant clinicians in the job—this conversation offers both realism and hope. Listen, reflect, and share it with a colleague. Then tell us: what one change would help you deliver better care tomorrow? Subscribe, leave a review, and join the conversation so more people can find these stories and shape the future of midwifery.

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Chapters

1. Ep 104 John Pendleton on Rethinking Midwifery: Gender, Power, And Care (00:00:00)

2. From BBC To Midwifery (00:00:53)

3. A Home Birth That Changed Everything (00:02:37)

4. Why People Choose Midwifery (00:04:46)

5. AI, Funding, And The Future Workforce (00:06:11)

6. Retention, Pay, And Care Continuity (00:08:47)

7. Balancing Care With Family Life (00:11:58)

8. Training Memories And Mentorship (00:13:49)

9. Staying Local, Thinking Global (00:17:12)

10. Institutionalisation Versus Long-Term Presence (00:18:47)

11. Education Philosophy And Purpose (00:21:57)

12. Discovering Research And Story Methods (00:24:45)

13. Masters As A Door To Teaching (00:26:50)

14. Committing To A PhD (00:29:43)

15. Changing The PhD Question (00:32:42)

16. What It’s Like For Men In Midwifery (00:35:32)

17. Power, Presence, And Chaperones (00:38:28)

18. Surprises About Gender And Careers (00:41:33)

19. Pandemic Pressure And PhD Survival (00:44:52)

20. Publishing, Backlash, And Media Storms (00:47:42)

21. Language, Inclusion, And Public Debate (00:51:41)

22. Next Studies And New Grants (00:55:31)

23. Culture, Politics, And Solidarity (00:58:16)

24. Decolonising, Teaching, And Real Change (01:01:36)

25. Closing Thanks (01:07:08)

107 episodes

#Midwifery #Research #Evidenced-based Practice #Global #Change Practice #Fitness #Podcasting Education #With AcademicLiz #The PostGraduate